Regardless of how prepared faculty were to teach online classes, the COVID-19 pandemic forced leaders of universities and colleges and faculty nationwide to pivot to emergency remote teaching and forced students to take online classes. To prepare faculty for the shift to online instruction, administrators in colleges and universities provided…

This study examined incivility in virtual classrooms among graduate students in behavioral sciences, focusing on the challenges of maintaining respectful online environments. The research question addressed how online faculty identify and manage incivilities in graduate programs in behavioral health science. The theoretical framework integrated…

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate how community college IT students interact with and succeed in virtual labs to determine the impact of these digital environments on learning outcomes. The research employed a comprehensive range of data collection methods, including pre-interview questionnaires, interviews, and observations, to…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how science students described their experiences of collaboration in a virtual learning environment at a community college in the Midwestern United States between 2020 - 2022. The literature review indicated the need to understand how science students described their experience of…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many educational institutions realized the need to shift traditional courses to online for health concerns. Teachers experienced technological, pedagogical, physical, and psychological challenges during this abrupt shift to online learning and a dire need for relevant professional development. Many teachers perceived…

Individuals with Autism (ASD) and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) exhibit poor post-secondary education employment outcomes compared to their disabled and non-disabled peers (Shattuck et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2015). In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic school closures, students with ASD and/or IDD in post-secondary…

Virtual reality (VR) as an emerging technology has extreme potential to revolutionize online higher education for adult students through immersive and engaging learning experiences. Lower cost and advancing research in VR technology and immersive simulation software offers unique opportunities for adult students to engage in a virtual learning…

Vocabulary knowledge is essential for students' academic success. Unfortunately, students with language impairments may struggle to understand classroom vocabulary which may significantly impact a student's academic, behavioral, and social outcomes. Although most students with language impairments spend most of their school day in general…

Purpose: To explore the relationship between knowledge change, self-confidence, and satisfaction with learning concepts of growth and development across the pediatric age span using a virtual learning environment (VLE), My Virtual Child©. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive correlation design. Measurement: An author-created assessment entitled…

Institutions of higher education have been consistently offering more virtual classes over the past decade. The need to understand the implications of these increased virtual class offerings has become essential in recent years. The purpose of this study was to explore virtual classes within a college of agriculture and the impact on student…

This dissertation explores the utilization of internet-connected devices to address the accessibility challenges associated with microscopy in the field of biology. Traditional microscopy devices are often costly, limiting their widespread adoption in laboratories. To overcome this barrier, we developed a cost-effective multi-well imaging device…

As online education continues to grow as a method to deliver education at the college and university level, research on online education has shifted from studying the technology and its ability to deliver course content to trying to better understand what encourages a positive online experience for instructors and students. The marked difference…

Student-centered active learning strategies have been found to have a positive impact on student learning outcomes when compared to courses using traditional lecture methods in higher education. The practice of active learning is strongly linked to physical active learning classrooms (ALCs). Comprehensive studies show ALCs outperform traditional…

This study on training and development experiences of faculty in higher education institutions (HEIs), particularly with learning management systems (LMSs), was relevant given the global shift to remote and virtual learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The LMSs became the foundation through which information was disseminated and it was important…

This qualitative exploratory case study looked at the challenges of perceived accessibility that needed to be addressed for visually impaired students to succeed in degree completion within the online learning environment. The biopsychosocial model of disability examined how human and environmental factors (social, biological, and psychological)…